Origin

Universe

Place of Birth

Creators

I have no interest in your deals. No interest in you, in any of you, on the outside. This park, this is Gotham now... its future. Reclaimed by nature, pure without mankind's assaults. It is a sanctuary now, and I am guardian. I will not let it be defiled. Not by anyone. Certainly not by you. Leave.

Contents

History

Pamela Isley was born in Washington, daughter of a wealthy family. She attended college in Seattle, where she studied botany. Pamela fell in love with Marc Legrand, one of her teachers and they started a relationship. Eventually, Pamela stole some special herbs from a local museum to help Legrand with some experiments, but he betrayed and poisoned her using the same herbs she had stolen for him. Pamela survived the poisoning and as a result, she became invulnerable to all poisons. These events were known by the FBI, but they had Pamela's name wrongly recorded as Lillian Rose.[1]

Seducing Batman

Turning to crime, Pamela adopted the alias of Poison Ivy and appeared in public for the first time in Gotham City in order to challenge the most renowned criminals for the title of Public Enemy No. 1. She managed to outmatch them, but she was confronted by Batman and Robin. Using her charms, she almost escaped from them, but Batman recovered just in time to capture her and placed her in prison.[3] Later, Ivy attempted to escape prison using Batman as her enforcer, but her plan backfired and she was captured once again.[4]

Eventually, she escaped from prison and joined the Injustice Gang, but they were all defeated by the Justice League.[5] Not long after this, Ivy became a member of the jury on a mock trial run by criminals in Gotham, which was staged in order to determine who had killed Batman. The whole situation was a plan concocted by Batman to capture the Joker, which allowed Ivy and the other criminals to avoid capture.[6]

Some time later, Ivy joined forces with Catwoman and Madame Zodiac in order to confront Batwoman, Batgirl and Huntress. Although successful at first, Ivy and Catwoman were captured and defeated while Zodiac betrayed them and escaped, leaving them behind.[7] When Ivy escaped once again, she planned her revenge against her former lover, Marc Legrand and transformed him into a tree-like creature under her command.[8] Ivy started a new series of crimes, but she was confronted by Wonder Woman, who turned the Legrand creature against Ivy and caused their apparent demise.[1]

Return to Gotham

Ivy had survived her encounter with Wonder Woman and after a short stint with the Injustice Gang,[9] she returned to Gotham City with a grand scheme to steal the assets of Wayne Enterprises from Bruce Wayne.[10] Ivy's plan was almost successful, but despite his hypnotic suggestion, Bruce Wayne resisted Ivy's commands and challenged her as Batman. Ivy's plan came crumbling down when Batman and Robin worked together against her and her trusted assitant revealed the truth to the authorities. Ivy was subsequently arrested and Wayne recovered the assets of his company.[11]

However, Ivy was soon released due to lack of evidence and good behaviour and she started working on her next scheme. She allied with a scientist and together, they created plant monsters that could potentially destroy Gotham. Ivy then used some executives from Wayne Enterprises to give the creatures their energy.[12] Her recklessness caused Ivy to be confronted once again by Batman, who foiled her plans with help from the new Robin[13]

Origins

Doctor Pamela Lillian Isley grew up in Seattle; daughter to wealthy yet distant parents. In college, she specialized in botany and toxicology and was a very promising, but naive, student. Her professor, Doctor Jason Woodrue, later known as the Floronic Man, seduced her, hoping to persuade her into becoming a human test subject for his experiments. These experiments, according to Isley, were torturous. Twice, she was nearly killed, and ended up in the hospital for six months. Woodrue fled the authorities, while Isley was left with a changed physiology. Toxins in her bloodstream made her touch deadly and immune to all poisons, viruses, bacteria, and fungi. She also gained the ability to produce pheromones that she could use to seduce men into doing her bidding. Unfortunately, the results of these experiments also also left her barren, and she has treated her plants as her children ever since.

Enraged at her betrayal by a man, Isley suffered violent mood swings. She later caused a boyfriend to have a car accident by bringing about a massive fungal-overgrowth in his lungs. Isley then left Seattle, eventually settling down in Gotham City.

Her first act, there, was threatening to release her suffocating spores into the air unless the city met her demands. Thus, she became infamous as Poison Ivy.

Criminal Career

After several encounters with Batman, Ivy was locked in prison for a while, until she was released on parole. Joining forces with a criminal known as "The Grip", Ivy used her pheromones and seduction tactics to steal from wealthy men. Unfortunately, her victims also died and investigations revealed that they had been killed by a disease that was slowly killing Ivy as well, as a result of the weakening of her poison immunity. Batman located Ivy and after a brief confrontation, she understood that her life was in danger and agreed to be hospitalized, where she would be properly treated and eventuall recovered.[14]

After a massive breakout from Arkham orchestrated by Bane, Poison Ivy escaped and created an army of "deadfellows", after which she attended a Charity Function at the Gotham Civic Center, where she released some plant spores in the air to mind control all the wealthy men of Gotham and she took them to her hideout, the greenhouse Neo Eden. Batman thwarted Ivy's plans and stopped the eco-terrorist.[15]

Ivy creates her utopia on a Caribbean island

Leaving Gotham

A few years after her arrival, she would try to leave Gotham forever, escaping Arkham to settle on a desert island in the Caribbean. She moulded the barren wasteland into a tropical paradise and stated that for the first time in her life, she was happy. It was soon firebombed, however, when an American-owned corporation tested their weapons systems out on what they thought was an abandoned island. Ivy then returned to Gotham, punishing those responsible. After being willingly apprehended by Batman, she resolved that she could never leave Gotham, at least not until the world was safe for plants. From then on, she dedicated herself to the mission of purifying Gotham.[16]

Injustice Gang and Harley Quinn

Poison Ivy was a member of the original Injustice Gang of the World, which fought the Justice League on several occasions. She also joined the Secret Society of Super-Villains for a mission against the Justice League. Years later, she was coerced into being a member of the Suicide Squad. During this time she used her abilities to enslave Count Vertigo.

Ivy is also friends with the Joker's sidekick Harley Quinn. Unlike most villain team-ups, their partnership seems to be rooted in genuine friendship, and Ivy really wants to save Harley from her abusive relationship with the Joker.

No Man's Land and Hush

Following the destruction of Gotham in an earthquake, the ruins of the city were declared a No Man's Land. Rather than fight over territory like most of Batman's enemies, Ivy held dominion over Robinson Park, and turned it into a tropical paradise. Sixteen children who were orphaned during the quake came to live with her, as she sympathized with them, having suffered a traumatic childhood herself. She cared for them like sons and daughters, despite her general misanthropy.

That winter, Clayface paid Ivy a visit, hoping to form a bargain with her. This would entail her growing fruits and vegetables, while the orphans harvested them, and then he would sell the produce to the highest bidder. She wanted nothing to do with the plan and attempted to kill him with a kiss. Clayface overpowered her and imprisoned she and the orphans for six months in a chamber under the lake in the park. He fed her salt and kept her from the sun to weaken her. Eventually, Batman came and discovered the prisoners. The two agreed to work together to take Karlo down. Batman battled Clayface and instructed Robin to blow up the lake bed above, allowing the rushing water to break apart the mud, effectively freeing Ivy. She fought Karlo, ensnaring him in the branches of a tree and fatally kissing him. She then proceeded to sink him down into the ground, where he became fertilizer for Ivy's plants. Batman, originally intended to take the orphans away from Ivy, but recognized that staying with her was what was best for them, and they remained in her care until the city was restored

After Gotham City was reincorporated into the United States, the city wanted to evict her from the park and send her back to Arkham Asylum. They also mistakenly believed that the orphans in Ivy's care were unwilling hostages. The Gotham City Police Department threatened to spray the park with a powerful herbicide that most certainly would have killed every living plant in the park, including Ivy, and more than likely do harm to the children as well. Ivy refused to leave the park to the city and let them undo the work she had done, so she chose martyrdom. It was only after Rose, one of the orphans, was accidentally poisoned by Ivy that she surrendered herself to the authorities in order to save Rose's life. Batman then became aware that Ivy was still more human than plant.[17]

Mind controlling Catwoman

Poison Ivy later came to believe that her powers had begun killing the children she looked after, so she asked Batman to help her reverse her condition to make her a normal human being again. Though it was a success, she was convinced soon after by Hush to take a serum that would restore her powers, but she apparently died in the process. When her grave was visited later, however, it was covered with vines and ivy, suggesting that her death would be short-lived.[citation needed]

Ivy was back in Gotham when Riddler set his Hush plan in motion. Promising her money, Riddler used Ivy to mind control Catwoman[18] and Superman.[19] Ivy was captured, though unbeknownst to her this was part of Riddler's plan. When Riddler was finally discovered, he was hunted by all the criminals he manipulated and sought Poison Ivy's protection.[20] However, Ivy wanted to destroy Riddler as much as everyone else and tried to eliminate him.[21] Ivy succeeded on destroying the Riddler by making him realize that he was no longer a criminal force in Gotham and left him in a catatonic state.[22]

One year after the events of the Infinite Crisis, Ivy was alive and active. Her control over flora had increased, apparently on a par with that of the Swamp Thing or the Floronic Man. She also appeared to have resumed her crusade against the corporate enemies of the environment with a new fanaticism, regarding Batman no longer as an opponent, but merely as a "hindrance".

Later, it was discovered that Ivy had been feeding people, including tiresome lovers, incompetent henchmen, and those who returned her smile to a giant plant which would digest the victims slowly and painfully. She referred to it as a guilty pleasure. In an unprecedented event, the souls of her victims merged with the plant, creating a botanical monster called Harvest, which sought revenge upon Ivy. With the intervention of Batman, however, she was saved. Ivy was left in critical condition, and the whereabouts of Harvest were unknown.[23]

Poison Ivy, the Trickster and Pied Piper

Countdown

After recovering, Ivy caught the Trickster and Pied Piper eating fruits in one of her gardens. Her plants then told her that the men had hurt them and she proceeded to ensnare them with intent to kill, if not for the intervention of Deathstroke.[24]

Later, Ivy was contacted by Catwoman, who wanted to get revenge over Hush. Ivy was in charge of locating every single hideout Hush had used and she stole all the money stashed in those places.[25]

Battle for the Cowl

After the Black Glove's failed plan to destroy Batman, all the inmates from Arkham Asylum were transferred to Blackgate Penitentiary until Arkham was completely decontaminated. On their way back to Arkham, the vehicles that transported the inmates were assaulted by a new Black Mask, who freed the inmates, blew the asylum in front of all of them and forced them to join his army. Ivy was among the inmates who joined Black Mask's group and under his instructions, she teamed up with Killer Croc, located the Batmobile and attacked Damian Wayne, who was saved by the timely arrival of Nightwing.[26]

Following Black Mask's plan, Ivy and Croc joined Firefly to burn and destroy Penguin's warehouses. However, tired of being manipulated by Black Mask, Ivy released a series of chemicals that nullified the chemical implant Black Mask was using to control them and Ivy freed herself from his grasp. She went to Catwoman's place, looking for Selina, but instead she found Harley Quinn and Riddler, who explained that they were also looking for Catwoman. Putting their differences aside, they teamed up and found Selina, unconscious on the streets.[27]

Ivy during her time with the Gotham City Sirens

Gotham City Sirens

Some time later, after rescuing Catwoman from Boneblaster, a new villain trying to make a name for himself, Poison Ivy took her back to Edward Nigma's townhouse. When there, Catwoman saw that Ivy had been keeping the Riddler under mind control so that she and Harley Quinn could use his townhouse as a hideout. Catwoman decided that with Gotham City more dangerous than ever, thanks to all the gang wars and a new Batman, a partnership with the other two women would be advantageous. However, Ivy feared that Catwoman had lost her edge and prowess, and consulted with Zatanna regarding the nature of Catwoman's injuries. Zatanna responded that Catwoman had psychological wounds that would need healing, moreso than physical ones. Ivy resolved that she and Harley would provide Catwoman with "positive female reinforcement", and the three agreed to become a team.

Ivy joined Selina on a mission at the Club V, where Selina was tasked to follow Vicki Vale. However, when Harley crashed the place in order to retrieve her stolen pet hyenas, Ivy was forced to help her fight against the various criminals in the building.[28]

After many adventures together, Harley Quinn betrayed her companions and broke into Arkham Asylum with the goal of killing the Joker. However, she ultimately chose to release Joker from his cell instead, and together the two orchestrated a violent takeover of the facility. Poison Ivy arrived and tried to convince Harley that the Joker was evil, but Harley Quinn refused to believe her. After they were defeated by Catwoman and Batman, Catwoman told Ivy that they would no longer be a team, angry at Ivy's earlier attempt to drug her in order to discover Batman's identity. Poison Ivy was then incarcerated in Arkham Asylum.

Ivy soon escaped and made amends with Harley Quinn. Together, the two set off to find Catwoman and make her pay for her betrayal. The two of them found Catwoman and fought her on the streets, where Catwoman confessed that she saw good in the both of them, and only wanted to help them. When she told them that she had only kept tabs on them because Batman wanted to keep them under control, Ivy took her anger out on the city by using giant vines to destroy buildings, cursing at Batman for manipulating her. Batman was about to arrest them, but Catwoman helped the two of them escape.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

Chlorokinesis: Semi-mystical connection to the plant world through a force called the Green. She was able to manipulate and animate plants, using roots to form supports for a tunnel. She controlled an entire tree to come down on Clayface, ensnaring him in its branches. She once brought a whole skyscraper down with giant vines.

Pheromone Control: Ivy is known to be able to seduce men and women alike, often using pheromones to do so, but even without the pheromones, her beauty is still an asset that can she can use to seduce.[29]

Toxikinesis: A deliberate overdose of plant and animal based toxins into her blood stream that make her touch deadly. Ivy can create the most potently powerful floral toxins in Gotham City. Often these are secreted from her lips and administered via a kiss. They come in a number of varieties, from mind controlling drugs to instantly fatal necrotics. Her skin is toxic as well, although contact with it is usually not fatal.

Skin Pigment Manipulation: By reducing the intensity of her poison, she can give herself a normal skin tone, allowing her to move around in public without being recognized.[30]

Abilities

Botany: Doctor Isley was a renowned scientist with a career in Gotham City. She's always had a fascination with plants and they have been the major direction in her life even after her accident. Her knowledge of botany allows her to better manipulate her plants.

Toxicology: Her specialization in Botany was Toxicology, at first she used her knowledge for perfumes, make-up and medicine. After her accident, she used her knowledge to grow thorny plants and poisonous traps for her enemies.

Seduction: Pamela Isley has always been a beautiful woman but she never used her looks or talents for personal gain until she became Poison Ivy. She taunts her trapped opponents with their human desires and can even infatuate thugs to her cause through her plants or her own means.

Hand-to-Hand Combat (Basic): Her athletic abilities have grown over the course of her career. She has learned a limited style of martial arts fighting, is proficient at climbing and leaping, and is a strong and fast swimmer.

Weaknesses

Mental Instability: Poison Ivy has been committed to Arkham Asylum on a regular basis. She speaks to her plants, finds extreme rage towards males and at a certain point sought out the destruction of the human race so only she and her plants would live.

Notes

Although this character was originally introduced during DC's Earth-One era of publication, their existence following the events of the 1985–86 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths remains intact. However, some elements of the character's Pre-Crisis history may have been altered or removed for Post-Crisis New Earth continuity, and should be considered apocryphal.

Suicide Squad memberThis character is or was a member of the Suicide Squad, a team of imprisoned super-villains who perform high-risk missions for the U.S. Government in exchange for commuted sentences, in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Suicide Squad members" category.